heredity

[ huh-red-i-tee ]

/ həˈrɛd ɪ ti /

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noun, plural he·red·i·ties.Biology.

the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring: it is dependent upon the segregation and recombination of genes during meiosis and fertilization and results in the genesis of a new individual similar to others of its kind but exhibiting certain variations resulting from the particular mix of genes and their interactions with the environment.

the genetic characters so transmitted.

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Origin of heredity

1530–40; <Middle French heredite<Latin hērēditāt- (stem of hērēditās) inheritance, equivalent to hērēd- (stem of hērēs) heir + -itāt--ity

Words nearby heredity

hereditament, hereditarian, hereditarianism, hereditary, hereditist, heredity, heredo-familial, Hereford, Hereford and Worcester, Herefordshire, here goes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heredity in a sentence

“The existence of epigenetic heredity is of paramount biological relevance, but the extent to which it happens in mammals remains largely unknown,” said Drs.
These Mice Pups Inherited Immunity From Their Parents—But Not Through DNA|Shelly Fan|November 2, 2021|Singularity Hub
Lewontin devoted nearly his entire academic career to the study of genes, the unit of heredity by which traits are passed from parent to offspring.
Richard Lewontin, a preeminent geneticist of his era, dies at 92|Emily Langer|July 8, 2021|Washington Post
Sometimes the intended insights have relied on simplified scenarios that shed light on scientific questions, such as Bell’s theorem or heredity, or on philosophical questions, such as elegance in mathematics or randomness.
Zen and the Art of Puzzle Solving|Pradeep Mutalik|February 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
“We as a species need to maintain the flexibility, in the face of future threats, to take control over our own heredity,” George Daley, the dean of Harvard Medical School, told an audience in Hong Kong in 2018.
Gene editing has made pigs immune to a deadly epidemic|Katie McLean|December 11, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Yes, heredity is indeed far more subtle than we’d guess from the simple Mendelian mathematical rules we learned in school.
How to Design (or at Least Model) Mixed Dog Breeds|Pradeep Mutalik|July 31, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Not surprisingly, then, this is a book about heredity, about fathers and sons and their awkward relationships.
Favorite Historical Novels|Stella Tillyard|November 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A frequently touching domestic drama about an academic Chicago family, it mulls Big Themes: war, faith, heredity.
The Squid and the Whale of a Book|Taylor Antrim|June 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Heredity decides how a man shall be bred; environment regulates what he shall learn.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
Take away from a man all that heredity and environment have given him, and there will be nothing left.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
As all men are what heredity and environment have made them, no man deserves punishment nor reward.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
I doubt if most people, although they would call that a platitude, realize that heredity is anything more than a telling word.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
As might be expected in this severer form of mental disturbance, heredity plays an especially important part in circular insanity.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley

British Dictionary definitions for heredity

heredity

/ (hɪˈrɛdɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the transmission from one generation to another of genetic factors that determine individual characteristics: responsible for the resemblances between parents and offspring

the sum total of the inherited factors or their characteristics in an organism

Word Origin for heredity

C16: from Old French heredite, from Latin hērēditās inheritance; see heir

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for heredity

heredity

[ hə-rĕd′ĭ-tē ]

The passage of biological traits or characteristics from parents to offspring through the inheritance of genes.

Cultural definitions for heredity

heredity

The passing of characteristics from parents to children. (See genetics.)

heredity

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Origin of heredity

Words nearby heredity

Words related to heredity

How to use heredity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heredity

Word Origin for heredity

Scientific definitions for heredity

Cultural definitions for heredity